Family is More Than Blood
by Quwarichi
Summary: What really lies behind the seal with the dragon paintings in the mage guild Magia Dragon? What is the real purpose of the 100 years quest? Since starting the quest, things have been hectic around Team Natsu and secrets that would have been kept forever now seem to unfold. what will they learn during this journey? and can you save the world using only fish?(ON HIATUS)
1. Arc 1 Chapter 1

** Family is More Than Blood**

Arc 1 Chapter 1: _About Dreams of Memories and A Cry for Help_

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_Ishgar, 400 years ago…_

Lidia sighed in content as she walked through the forest. The trees always gave her a much required sense of silence and solitude when she needed, and it had never failed in making her feel at peace watching the light and shade chasing each other through the gaps in the tree leaves. From afar, so heard the light bubbling and giggling of the water pond she walked past earlier. If there was something she had always enjoyed is bathing in those little cleared-water ponds, standing under the morning sun and listening to the birds chirping and announcing that the day has begun.

The brown-haired woman had stopped at a little clearing in the forest, taking a deep, long breath and just enjoying the silence. closing her eyes and stretching all her senses to all directions in order to take in everything she could- before her eyes suddenly opened, realizing what it is that her senses were trying to tell her. The quiet of the forest, it was unnatural. No birds chirping, no little animals running around, no laughing sound of the humans from the nearby village and the smell of… smoke?

Lidia clenched her teeth and fists before bolting in the direction of the smell, anger bubbling up her throat and the feelings of hope, self-loathing and murderous intent mixing inside her. arriving at the village, already prepared for the destruction and calamity that had claimed it as their own, she was not prepared for the number of bodies that were laying on the dirt paths between the houses, the once light-browned colored road was tainted in dark red, flooding the streets and making walking there completely impossible if you wanted to go out of the village with clean feet.

Sighing again, this time in defeat, Lidia was about to turn away and walk to the nearest river to clean her now blood-tainted feet. _The dragons struck again huh? _She thought to herself in sadness _why can't they just get along with humans and stop pouring the blood of innocents? Why not treat them like equals and be allies?_ Shaking her head, she made her way down the village towards the small river at the end, taking in the burning ruins of the houses and mourning the lost lives of the villagers, who once owned said homes. It was a tragedy that does were the times they lived in, where the dragons saw themselves as the ruling race over the land, sea and sky, while the humans saw themselves as superior to the dragons, thus provoking the latter to open in some sort of twisted tug-of-war kind of game, where two teams fight with almost equal power for the win, but the only way to win is completely erase the other team's race.

She stopped near the farthest house of the village, which was also the closest to the river, and bent down to observe two bodies laying on the ground, seemingly dead. The first one was a male with pink hair and quit the lean build. He was wearing a white toga with a red sash tied from his shoulder to his pelvis. He would have even seemed handsome if not for the ugly hole in his stomach, staining his white toga in mud and blood. But what really interested Lidia was that the woman who was beside him, was alive. The woman had black curly hair and a pale skin, dawning around her neck a jewel that held two long white sashes that splitted in the middle of her chest, covering it on the sides and reconnecting down as a gown. She seemed bruised badly and it was quite the miracle she hadn't die up until now, seeing as only those with high magical abilities managed to survive those kinds of injuries for long, and Lidia didn't sense much magic power coming from the woman.

Carefully placing the black-haired woman in her lap, Lidia touched her on the forehead, channeling a tiny bit of pain-killing magic in order to help the woman wake up, removing her fingers once she saw that the woman's eyelashes are stirring open. Once the woman opened her eyes, Lidia smiled at her, leaning closer and speaking in a calming tone.

"Wha- what happened?" The woman asked, seemingly suspicious of the person in front of her.

"You really should not be up yet. Your village has been attacked, you're the first one i found that is alive." Lidia answered, slowly placing the woman on the ground to help her regain some much-needed space.

The woman's eyes grew bigger in fear and shock "what about my husband? and Natsu and Zeref?! Where are they?!" She tried to get up, but Lidia pushed her down again.

"About your husband, I'm sorry but i arrived too late to help him" Lidia pointed towards where the pink haired man laid with an apologetic look in her eyes "and who are Natsu and Zeref?" She asked.

The woman looked at her husband for a moment, closing her eyes to block the tears that were already streaming down her face "Natsu and Zeref are my sons. Zeref is the oldest, about 7 years old. Natsu is 4 years old. Did you see them somewhere?" She asked with hope in her eyes.

Lidia shook her head " I haven't seen them in the village" she said. The woman looked like the wind had just left her sails "but it might be because they're still alive" she tried to be optimistic.

In truth, Lidia knew that the woman didn't have much time left. The fact that she managed to stay alive with her injuries for so long is a mystery by itself, but from her scent she got an hour tops, and that's being extra optimistic. It seems that the woman knew it too, as her head was hung low and her eyes seemed to have a kind of empty defeat look in them.

She laid a hand on her belly, laughing slightly "so in the end I never got to give birth to you huh?" She asked with dark mirth in her voice.

Lidia blinked fast several times "wait, you're with child?" She asked her in shock.

"Yeah," the woman sighed "and i was so excited from the fact that I'm finally having a girl, too" she continued caressing her -now noticed by Lidia- slightly visible baby bump.

The woman then lifted her head and smiled towards her " I don't suppose you use magic now do you?" She asked the surprised Lidia.

"Actually, i am quiet the gifted mage" Lidia admitted, inwardly laughing at herself for such description. A mage wasn't exactly what she was, but on the same time, the woman wasn't wrong in her assumption that Lidia can use magic.

The woman then bit her lower lip, seemingly contemplating on whether she should ask her question or not. After a few minutes, she seemed to have made up her mind, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before opening them again and looking the Brown-haired woman in the eyes "would you be willing to use your magic to transfer my baby from me to you?" She asked her with nervousness.

Lidia blinked once. Then twice, the words sinking in while she felt as if a few hundred little Lidias just started running around in her head, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Transfer your baby to me? What do you mean by that?" She asked the woman, feeling probably the most lost she had ever felt in her entire life.

" From what I understand, it's a simple Transmitting Magic that moves the object from one place to the other" the woman explained as if it was the most natural thing to ask of a stranger before you die.

" No, i understood that part. What i didn't understand was why would you want me to transfer your baby to me." Lidia couldn't think for the life of her why would this woman want her to transfer her unborn baby to another woman's body.

The woman smiled "look, we both know i don't have more than a few minutes before i die," she said with a surprisingly peaceful face " all i can hope for is that the little girl inside of me will have a chance in life and not just die before she even had a shot at life. It just doesn't seem fair towards her."

"And you decided that the best option you got is asking a complete stranger to grow your baby in their body, then live with them as if the baby was their own?" Lidia was seriously doubting the woman's sanity.

The woman made a "tsk" sound as she shook her head in slight amusement. " While you are a complete stranger to me, i am also a complete stranger to you. Yet somehow, you're still here, and i can see you are actually thinking about it. You could have walked away from the village, yet you came here even at the danger of dragons being around just to see if someone is still alive. You're a good person, and all i want is for my kids to be raised with love, and you seem like the perfect candidate for the job" she smiled at her, and Lidia could see the confidence the woman had in her. The brown-haired woman clenched her teeth and let out a long breath. She could feel the way life were slowly losing their grip on the black-haired woman, and knew she didn't have much time.

_Ugh. I am about to do probably the most stupid thing i have ever done in my life_ "fine" she said. Startling the woman in front of her "I'll transfer the baby to me and raise her" the dying woman looked as if she's about to cry from joy, jumping up from the ground and hugging Lidia tight, thanking her over and over again.

"Okay. Now I'm going to need you to lay down while i use this spell. Don't move if you can please." She informed the woman who was choke-hugging her.

The woman nodded, settling back on the ground and closing her eyes. Only then did Lidia realized how shallow her breath was, and how pained her movements seemed. They were running out of time, so she better get on with the spell. Laying a hand on top of the woman's belly, and the other on her own, she closed her eyes and started whispering the magic words, summoning the magic from the air, the grass, the sky, the river and from herself. Reciting the last words, she said " for from one place you were then, and now you came forth and settled here" creating a golden magic circle around them. Suddenly, light started to emit from the woman's stomach and passing through Lidia's hand, arriving at her stomach that started glowing as well. Slowly, the light from the woman's body began to disappear, while the glow from Lidia was only getting stronger. And then suddenly it stopped, and the glow faded away with a whispering sound. Feeling the baby that was now safely inside of her, Lidia looked down to see the woman panting and sweating, her skin going paler by the minute. Laying a hand on her forehead, she could feel the life of the woman fading away rapidly. The woman then smiled at her with tears in eyes full of pain, yet she seemed more at peace then before.

"Thank… you" she whispered weakly, grabbing Lidia's hand as the tears rolled down her cheeks " but… may i ask one thing from you before you go?" She asked.

Lidia nodded, smiling at her "anything" she assured.

"I want you to name her Merry. Merry Dragneel." The woman said.

Lidia nodded, caressing the woman's tear stained cheek "I promise i will"

The woman smiled and laid her head on the ground once more, closing her eyes and letting out a content sigh as she passed away quietly, as if she just fell asleep.

Lidia stayed on her knees, staring into space and feeling the unborn child within her settle in and start to feed of her magic. Shaking her head, she got up and went to work. With a swift motion of her hand, several rectangular holes appeared in the ground. With another motion of her hand, suddenly the burning and bloody village were gone, and all the bodies of the dead were placed inside the graves she made. Slowly bending down, she picked up the woman and carried her to a grave in the front, carefully placing her near her husband inside and filling the graves with dirt using a pulling motion with her arm. Another snap of her fingers and tombstones of various sizes and shapes were placed on top of the graves. Bending down once more, she sat on her heels in front of the couple's grave and wrote one word on it. After finishing that, she got up and stretched her arms above her head. "Well, it's time we get moving as well, don't you think?" She asked her belly with a smile. She may not be the real mother of the girl, but she will do whatever she can to make her feel loved and comfortable.

Turning her back to the graveyard she created, smoke appeared to come out of her skin while her limbs got bigger and grew golden shiny scales. Her face started to change, her jaw becoming less defined and sharper in its shape, as her face skin grew scales as well. her back sprouted giant wings and a long tail, sharp claws and teeth growing as well. She could feel the baby inside of her turning into a dragon fetus and inwardly sighed. She knew that if she took the baby, the moment she transformed into a dragon the fetus will change as well. _Oh well,_ she thought to herself _at least she will grow as a dragon princess, no one will dare lay a hand or claw on her because of her human origin._ Lidia grinned to herself _after all, nobody wants the wrath of the dragon queen on their tail._

Spreading her wings, she took off into the sky, soaring high above the clouds to avoid being seen. Even as the queen, there are dragons who don't respect her and will do anything to destroy the humans despite her forbidding any kind of violence towards another species. Being a peace-loving dragon have always been something that others looked down on, but she will raise the girl like that, and teach her all the ways of being peaceful and fair towards everybody, as well as how to protect those who she loves the most.

Chuckling quietly to herself, she thought about the name that her now future daughter will have. Merry. Such a happy name, she loved it. Just what her world needed, some happiness in those dark times. Although the girl won't be born for a few more years with the unique biology of the dragons, she couldn't wait to meet her. Her daughter, Merry Dragneel.

Chuckling again, she rolled her eyes. _Dragneel_ she thought in amusement _Who in the world has a name like that?_

* * *

_ Giltena, X793…_

Natsu was having that dream again.

It started as it always does; he was sitting in a chair in front of a wood table and barley reached its surface. On his right sat a beautiful black-haired woman, and on his left sat his ever-so-lovely-to-see older brother, Zeref. To say that Natsu hated Zeref was like saying that Erza thought strawberry shortcakes were just "okay". No, Natsu hated Zeref with every fiber of his being, so big was his hatred for the man, every time he remembered they were related made him want to puke his guts out. The man in front of Natsu moved, putting more cooked meat into his mouth and shaking Natsu out of his thoughts, making him turn to face the other pink-haired guy in the room. Ignoring the fact that Zeref was there with him, smiling at him as everything is just great, the dream did have a silver lining in it: He got to see his parents.

His mother had a beautiful black hair and shining eyes, with a pale skin and a loving smile that never seemed to leave her lips. He could almost hear her voice, imaging it would be soft and sweet, just like Lucy's voice. His father on the other hand, had pink hair and tanned skin just like Natsu and olive-green eyes with the same shape as his. His voice would probably be rougher, like Gildart's voice.

_They were sitting comfortably around the table and ate their meal. Zeref talked to their parents, though Natsu couldn't hear what he was saying due to the fact that the dream had no sound. Everything felt normal until suddenly the house started shaking, making all the tools and decorations on the wall to fall down and break into tiny pieces. Natsu couldn't move at all, not for lack of trying though. He struggled to order his body to move, but felt like he was paralyzed and could only watch helpless as his father scooped Zeref into his arms and grabbed Natsu by his white, tiny toga, before running outside with his wife to see what's going on. Looking up at the sky, Natsu noticed about five dragons hovering above the village, causing mayhem and destroying every house they encountered. What bothered Natsu the most was that he couldn't hear anything. No screams of terror, no collapsing buildings and not even the roars of the dragons, which should have been pretty freaking loud if you think about it! Suddenly, he felt a chill running down his spine, willing his head to look up, he immediately cursed himself at doing so when he found himself looking straight into one of the dragon's eyes, as the dragon opened his mouth and a storm of ice spikes in the size of fences came down on his family, one penetrating his father's gut, making him drop Natsu and Zeref and immediately disappearing afterwards. His father fell to ground face first, as the ice spikes missed their mother's critical points with their sharp end but still his her hard enough to make her fall to the ground. Zeref started crying, large tears streaming down his face as he ran to his parents, missing the large spike on its way to kill him. That's when Natsu's body started to move, shoving Zeref's body out of the way and taking the hit himself, dying immediately. Usually that was when Natsu woke up in cold sweat and panting, his mind still revisiting the moment of his death before he was brought back as E.N.D from the book of demons, but not this time._

_The first thing Natsu noticed is that the sky is clear. No smoke and no dragons were seen anywhere on the horizon. The second thing he noticed was that he was no longer in his toddler body. He was back at his own, tall, 21-year-old body. He got up, finally having control over his body, and looked around. It still looked like where his village once was, but instead of houses there was just a lot of graves. Walking towards the graves, he saw that they all had smooth tombstones in different shapes and shades of marble. well, all but one that had something written on it. Before he could lean down and see what exactly was written on the stone, his shoulders tensed as he felt another presence near him. Turning around, he saw a young woman sitting near the river, watching him with a soft smile. She had a long, flowing black hair with tips and highlights in pink that reached the small of her back. She wore a white, short-sleeved blouse that revealed her abdomen and shoulders and highlighted her even paler skin. Two black shiny orbs were looking at him from a small and feminine face with interest while the subtle wind made her knee-length white skirt flutter gently. She had no shoes, but two golden thick golden bracelets decorated her ankles as well as her wrists. When she realized he was looking at her, her smile broke into a grin as she lifted her hand a greeting. Something about her bugged Natsu. He had a feeling they met before somewhere, but couldn't remember exactly when. He started to walk towards her but stopped in his tracks as she got up and walked towards him as well, clasping her hands behind her back and chuckling with no sound._

_"Who are you?" Natsu's voice sounded hoarse, like he hadn't used it in a while._

_The girl only hid her mouth as she giggled, her long hair falling like a waterfall in front of her, hiding her face for a second before she tucked it behind her ear._

_She twirled around, and started to the river where she sat before. Just like water, her movements entranced him with their fluid like motions. She made her way to the edge of the river and hesitated for a second before entering. Natsu had a bad feeling about the water, it looked dark and unpleasant, probably cold as well._

_"Hey wait!" He called after her, discovering that once again, he wasn't able to move._

_Struggling to break free, he tried to twist his body, but was able to move a muscle._

_"Come back! Hey, I'm talking to you!" He yelled, but the girl didn't seem to notice at all._

_Now deep inside the river, she turned around to look at him. seeing that he wasn't smiling back at her and instead seemed to be struggling, she started to make her way back to the shore to help him, before five chains flew out of the river suddenly, warping themselves around her limbs and neck, making her fall to her knees in the water as the chains dragged her slowly underwater water._

_Natsu, now struggling harder than ever, could only watch as the girl was dragged backwards, with her eyes pleading for help as her mouth screamed things that could not be heard._

_"Stop! Leave her alone!" He yelled, but felt his consciousness quickly giving out to the mysterious power that held him down in his place. The girl's whole body was underwater now, leaving only her face above the water. She looked at him terrified, her lip quivering and tears in her eyes as her head started to ascend down the river as well._

_She looked at him and open her mouth, yelling out a single word before completely disappearing under the now black water "Natsu!"_

"NOOO!" Natsu screamed, sitting up in his tent. His heart was racing and he was sweating all over the place.

"Natsu! Are you alright?" Lucy looked at him with worry in her eyes, clearly startled from his sudden shout.

Natsu looked around. He was in his, Gray and Happy's tent, also known as the boy's tent. And yet, Lucy, Erza, Wendy and Carla were there with him, as well as Gray and Happy. They all looked nervous, like they didn't really know what was going on.

He swallowed "wha- what's going on?" He asked, confused as to why everybody were looking at him. He also noticed he was only wearing his boxers, so he made a reminder to not get up as long as Wendy's there.

"You were tossing and turning all over the place, also you were shouting stuff and sweating like hell, so i called Wendy to take a look at you" Gray explained, examining the pink-haired dragon slayer face.

Lucy laid her hand on Natsu's bare shoulder, looking into his eyes "are you alright Natsu? You looked like you were fighting someone. Did you have a nightmare?" She knew it would embarrass him to admit he had a nightmare, but she had to know what's got him acting like this.

Natsu shook his head and ran a hand through his pink disheveled locks. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he looked at his partner's face and gave her a reassuring smile. That nightmare was bad, he'd be the first to admit it, but it wasn't worth getting Lucy all worked up about it. Shifting on his sleeping bag, he stretched and yawned loudly, while his stomach started growling demanding that a sacrifice for her sake is required. Looking up at his team again, he decided to play it dumb. Well, dumber than usual.

"Nah, nothing like that. Just dreaming about fighting someone strong" he lied "anyway, I'm starving. What's for breakfast?" His friends seem to have bought the act, though Lucy did look at him weirdly, and started to make their way out of the tent, to get started on breakfast. Even Happy went to help them, though he claimed that if they all ate raw fish for breakfast it would save everyone lots of trouble. Lucy stayed with him in the tent for a moment, examining his face, before shrugging and getting out as well, probably to lecture Happy about his obsession with fish.

Sighing, Natsu got up and started looking for his clothes. Once he had his favorite one-sleeved trench coat on and his usual white baggy pants, he stepped out of the tent towards were the campfire was. Feeling like his stomach was trying to eat herself, he made his way in a beeline towards the fire, sitting down and immediately starting to munch on it, savoring the delicious flavor of wood-based fire. After evaporating the fire into literally nothing, he got up from his crouching position and sat next to Lucy on a lug in front of the now empty bonfire. Everybody else, already used to seeing Natsu just eat the campfire when he wants, were eating their own meals besides Lucy and Happy, who were arguing about Happy's eating habits.

"I'm just saying that cooking the fish from time to time won't kill you!" Lucy exclaimed in frustration, throwing her hands in the air.

"No! I would never cook fish. It makes it lose all the fishiness! Right Natsu?" Happy looked at him with a _make-me-cook-that-fish-and-i-will-end-you_ look that was one of the only things in the world that actually scared him. And it worked, once again, like a charm.

"C'mon Luce! So he doesn't cook the fish. Big deal. At least he's eating!" Natsu settled his hands behind his head, settling in the blond's lap as he prepared himself for his after-breakfast nap. Lucy huffed in annoyance that Natsu wasn't taking her side and pushed him off her to the ground. Getting up and rubbing his head, the pink-haired dragon slayer wandered what was it with his partner and pushing him off things. Her lap, her bed, in the end he always found himself on the floor with a sore spot on the back of his head.

They finished eating and packed their stuff before hitting the road to the train station. There was still half a day before they would arrive at the town, which for Natsu and Wendy meant half a day of heaven before going on a literal ride from hell. Ever since he was small, Natsu had a really bad motion sickness that just got in the way of everything he wanted to do. Sometimes he found himself wondering; if dragon slayers get motion sickness after unlocking their potential, what about fully-grown dragons? Would they get motion sickness or is it just something that came with the profession for slayers? Natsu was also aware that his friends and guild never really believed he was smart enough to think about questions like that, and they were wrong. Sure, he isn't the brightest. And yes, he had a hard time understanding more detailed things, but he wasn't an idiot in any kind, shape or form. Yeah, he could be dense, but everyone that's close to him knew how sharp he could be when he wanted to. Especially Lucy. She might have called him in the past an idiot, but that was just because he annoyed him by breaking into her apartment. No, she knew better than anyone that he wasn't an idiot, he was just a very, very very very very dense person.

Shaking his head, he let his thoughts wander back to the girl in his dream. She seemed around Lucy's age, meaning she was younger than him by two-three years at best, but her build was reminded him more of Erza. He felt like he was supposed to know her, and it bugged him that he couldn't pinpoint exactly how does he know her. Thinking about his annoying older brother Zeref, Natsu wondered if he has anything to do with it. Of course, asking the Black Mage is out of the option, seeing that he was dead, but maybe the book of E.N.D had some useful clues in it. Thinking back, he remembered that Gray destroyed the book at the end of the war against Alvarez in order to get some closure for his father, so checking the book was out of the question as well. Natsu gritted his teeth. Dammit! It seems his search for answers ended before it even begun. _It was just a dream anyway_ he thought to himself _it probably didn't mean anything. That girl probably isn't real, i just made her up._ With this conclusion in mind, he decided to end his train of thoughts as his brain was starting to hurt for all the over thinking. He might not be an idiot, but thinking still wasn't his strong suit. Turning his head towards his friends, he decided to join in on their conversation.

"I'm just saying that he could have come say goodbye to you Erza. Who knows when he'll see you again and honestly you two have a lot to talk about" Lucy folded her arms to her chest, fuming.

Erza lifted her hands in to defend herself "he was busy! Even as a free man he still has some unfinished business to take care of!" She looked rather uncomfortable talking to Lucy about this subject, so Natsu decided to swoop in and save the day.

Slinging his arm around the blond's shoulders, he casually entered the argument "who's busy?" He asked nonchalantly, pretending he didn't know who they were talking about.

Lucy sent him a look that said "i know what you're doing and you're lucky i like you", to which he grinned at her and squeezed her shoulder, making her sigh and shaking her head at the antics of her partner. "Fine. I'll leave it alone for now, but don't you think this is over Erza." She looked over to the requip mage, lifting her finger towards her with a threatening tone in her voice. Erza shook her head and silently thanked Natsu and his timing as she hurried ahead towards Gray and Wendy that were walking in front of them.

Now alone, Natsu removed his arm from Lucy's shoulders and stuck them in his pockets as they walked side by side. Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, he saw her biting and her lower lip with a hesitant look in her eyes. After a few minutes and an uncomfortable silence between them, she finally looked up at him, determination written over her face.

"So," she began, dragging the word on her tongue "are you going to tell me what your nightmare was about?" Damn she was sharp. Although most of his friends already forgot about it, of course Lucy just waited for the both of them to be alone so she can ask him what's going on. Knowing that he couldn't just wave her off and that lying would only make her dig harder, he decided to tell her about his dream, hoping maybe she'll know what it means.

After describing to her the last thing he remembered, he looked at her expectantly. Lucy was smart, she'll probably have an answer to his questions about the girl and what the chains meant. The celestial mage sank deep in thought, her hand supporting her chin as her brows furrowed in concentration.

"Well…" she trailed off "The first part, with the dragons attacking? That seemed to be a memory, or more accurately, your last memory before being brought back as… you know." She sounded hesitant to mention his demon nature, and Natsu inwardly kicked himself. Although she pretended that it didn't matter, he could see that she always avoided talking to him about Zeref being his brother or him being E.N.D, not that he blamed her. He never initiated a talk about those topics in the past himself. Shaking his head from his thoughts, he almost missed what she said " but the other part, the one with the girl and the chains, plus the fact that you couldn't hear anything, is what's really bothering me. From what you said, she seems to know you in some way, and the fact that it's the first time she ever appeared in your dream made me think of a couple of possibilities to what or who she is. But I can't know for sure, so until i get more information there isn't much we can do" she finished, letting her hands fall beside her and looking forward aimlessly.

Nodding, Natsu smiled reassuringly at her. "No worries Luce! It was probably nothing anyway." Lucy didn't seem convinced, but seeing as she had no counter arguments, she decided to drop the topic. In front of them, the others seemed to have stopped and were looking at a small town a few miles in the distance. "We're here!" Lucy called, cheering up. The thought of riding a train made Natsu's gut protest, and he felt his face turn green. "Do we have to ride the train?" He complained; Wendy didn't look better than him "it's a death trap! We might die" he tried to reason with the others. Erza shook her head and lifted an eyebrow at the sight of him "we haven't even arrived at the town you're already in shambles? Oh my." She smiled at him, quiet smugly, as she began to march to the town. Gray looked smug as well, but bent down to pick up a nauseated Wendy and carried her on his back. Happy flew over to Natsu and Lucy, helping the latter pick the dragon slayer up and carrying him to town.

Arriving at the train station, it was already evening, and a few stars were up in the sky. the team boarded the first train to Draseel, the center of Giltena. The moment the train started moving, Natsu and Wendy were dead to the world. He felt Lucy gently pull his head into her lap, caressing his hair in an attempt to sooth him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to fall asleep, hoping it would make the ride a bit shorter and less insufferable. Breathing in Lucy's sweet vanilla scent, he relaxed his muscles and closed his eyes, drifting into a dreamless, unpleasant sleep.

* * *

_ Elsewhere, at the same time…_

Looking up at the star-filled sky, the man took a deep breath. Laying on the soft grass in the forest clearing and watching the stars was one of his favorite things to do. Well, besides causing mayhem and destroying stuff. He remembered a time were those things were never on his mind, a time where there was only one thing that he thought of, one thing that made him smile and feel as if he could do anything. But they took that thing from him, the damned mages came and took the only thing that made him sane. His feelings, his soul, his everything, taken away without a bat of an eye from them. And he is going to make them pay, to make them all pay.

Letting out a sigh, he got up. "Damn mages." He bitterly cursed " you just **had** to ruin star gazing too right? Well, no matter. Cause soon, I'll get rid of you all, then I'll go back and destroy the place that started it all. I'll burn it to the ground and won't leave a single soul alive. That i swear on my- no." He looked up to the night sky, his hand clutching his most precious possession, the necklace, he smiled " i swear on her life. And that's a promise I'm never going to break. Just like she did."

Stretching his arms, smoke began to appear from his skin as his limbs began to grow scales. Wings sprouted out of his back as his face became longer, forming a snout. Now a full dragon, he spread his wings and took off into the sky.

_She never broke her promise to me, and I'm not going to break my promise either. This is my way, it's clear to me now. _

The world better watch out, Ignia the Fire God Dragon is coming for you.

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**Aaaand done! What'd you think? It was so fun writing this chapter, and I'm excited to write the next one already!**

**If you haven't read the "Fairy Tail: The 100 Years Quest" manga or haven't finished the "Fairy Tail" manga yet it's fine, just be warned that this story will contain lots of spoilers for you.**

**Fair warnings, English is my second language so expect to find some mistakes here and there. Also, the characters I don't know much about yet may be a bit OCC. So just… if you have any suggestions about them leave a comment. **

**I don't own Fairy Tail or Fairy Tail: The 100 Years Quest. Hiro Mashima does.**

**Thanks for reading and see you next chapter!**

**Snowwaffles :)**


	2. Arc 1 Chapter 2

**Family is More Than Blood**

Arc 1 Chapter 2: About Stars, Wishes and Wood

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Lucy's shoulder blade was on fire.

Well, not literally. Though, with Natsu around it was easy to see why people would get confused. She wasn't literally on fire, it just hurt like someone had set it on fire. She was experiencing sudden pains like these on and off ever since the war last year. At first, she shrugged it off as nothing more than phantom pain from a past battle, but lately it has been acting up more than usual, appearing once or twice a week and making her want to rip her shoulder off just to get some peace and quiet. She considered going to Wendy for help but rejected the idea as she got a feeling it's not something physical. Shifting uncomfortably on her seat, she sighed. The ride to Draseel was 8 hours long, and they were only 2 and a half hours in. Wendy rested on Erza's lap, looking pale, while Carla stroked her head soothingly. Gray was napping whilst Happy was drooling over Carla. Sighing again, she looked out of the window. The sky was already dark by the time their train sat out and now every star was shining brightly in the clear night sky. Watching the many constellations she learned about from a very young age she smiled. Every constellation had its spirit, the thought that there were so many celestial spirits out making her all giddy inside. But lately, every time she looked up to the shiny orbits and thought about the spirits that guard them her shoulder blade would burst in pain, stealing her breath and making her heart beat fast as her temperature raised. Like now, for example.

Tonight, the pain was horrible. It felt as if someone was sticking a hot needle under her skin whilst trying to break her back with a hammer. Breath hitching, she shifted again in her seat, trying to massage the pain away. Tears clouded her vision from the pain and she had to bite her lower lips in order to keep in the whimper that was threatening to escape. Her movements caught the attention of her pink-haired partner as Natsu, who was napping in her lap ever since they boarded the train, rolled up to look at her from his spot and scrunched his nose in worry.

_"You okay?" _He mouthed to her, not wanting to alert the others if it was a false alarm.

Placing her hand at her side after finishing the massage, she nodded and tried to smile at him, though the pain still lingered on her back. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she tucked a stray hair behind her ear and ruffled his bangs while smiling (this time successfully) at him and nodding her head. He stared at her for a few seconds before a new wave nausea came over him and his face turned green. Laughing quietly, she felt the pain subside and moved her shoulder in circles a few times to check for any strange feeling. After confirming that the uncomfortable feeling has passed, allowed herself to relax as she caressed Natsu's hair, hands diving into his pink, soft truffles and combing it with her fingers. Natsu was fast asleep, completely knocked out on her thighs. He seemed to be having a dream, by the amount of expressions on his face and the small noises he made. She really wished sometimes that she could enter his mind and see what's he thinking and or dreaming about. It genuinely made her curious. Natsu made a small noise, something between a choke to a laugh, and it made her even more than ever, interested to know what the hell does Natsu do in his mind?

_Well, too bad I can't just snap my fingers and bam! I'm in his dream. _She thought to herself in disappointment _I guess understanding how Natsu thinks will stay one of those questions without answers._ Giggling silently, she looked down again at his sleeping face. Quickly glancing up, she made sure that Gray was still asleep, as well as Erza, Wendy, Carla and Happy. Releasing a breath, she leaned down and placed her forehead on Natsu's, closing her eyes.

_The houses all around her were burning down… a man diving to save a woman before getting hit with an ice blast… the dragon looked down on her before preparing his next attack… the girl being pulled underwater by chains, as her eyes are wide with panic and struggling to break free, screaming with no voice-_

Lucy shot up in her seat, heart beating like a drum in her rib cage and her breaths are shallow and unsteady. What was that? Was she really watching Natsu's dream? How? And was that girl the one he told her about? So many questions ran through her head, until she felt a tugging on her sleeve. Looking down, Happy looked at her with worry in his eyes, clearly stressed from her current state.

"Is everything okay Lushi? Did you have a bad dream?" He asked her with a slight tremble in his voice as he held her hand tightly. Lucy mentally kicked herself. Happy hated nightmares, the fact that for a few months after the war all of them were having the worst moments from the battle come and disturb their sleep. When he and Natsu crashed at her apartment, he usually couldn't sleep because Lucy would silently cry in her sleep and Natsu's lack of peaceful, dreamless nights that were instead filled with terror. Happy would usually cuddle between them on her bed, trying to make them feel better by being there for them, but he grew to despise those awful nightly horrors for disturbing his friend's minds over and over. Shaking her head, she smiled at him. Patting him on the head and trying to radiant a warm aura to make him feel better.

"I don't think I'm the one with nightmares tonight, Happy" she looked at their pink-headed dragon slayer friend that was stationed on her lap "Natsu's has it way rougher than us," as if on cue, Natsu whimpered slightly, his shoulders tensing.

"What do you mean "having it rough"?" Happy's concern to his buddy was clear.

"Well," Lucy bit her lip "I'm not too sure of it myself, but I think I just caught a few glimpses of Natsu's dreams" she wasn't too sure about it, but saying it out loud now actually made sense. In some way she somehow managed to look into her partner's dreams. _But how?_ She questioned herself _how did I do that? _Last time she checked, she had Celestial Magic, a Spatial based magic and in no way something that will allow her to watch other's dreams. So how did she managed to do that? The questions seem to haunt her, and honestly, she was having none of that. _It all started when I wished that I could see what Natsu was dreaming about._ She retraced her step "but how could that do anythi- OWWW!" She yelled, clutching her suddenly burning shoulder. Her yell seemed to wake Gray and Erza, who had jumped up in their seat as if someone used electric shock on them, as well as Natsu and Wendy, who the moment they opened their eyes immediately got all dizzy and nauseous again.

"What's happening? Who yelled?!" Gray looked around quickly, looking for the non-existing attacker.

"Is everything alright Lucy?" Erza asked her in concern, her eyes scanning the scene in front of her; Lucy sitting in the train seat, grabbing her shoulder like it was just dislocated. Natsu in her lap, trying to get up in vain, giving in to the motion sickness, and Happy who was looking like he might cry at any second now. Lucy cursed in her head. If there was something she hated, it was to worry her friends.

"It's… nothing" she lied, hating herself for that "a phantom pain, really. Not something to worry about" she smiled at them reassuringly, and seemed to have put the others at ease.

All except one Dragon Slayer, who wasn't buying any of that crap.

* * *

_Elsewhere, at the same time…_

Ignia positioned himself on the grass so that he could lay there comfortably. He was in for another night of stargazing and loneliness, not that he'll ever admit he was lonely. There is only one person that he would ever agree to tolerate, and she was gone for a long while now.

Of course, thoughts about her made him think about them, the other Dragon Gods.

There was Mercphobia, the peace-loving weakling.

Aldron, that giant wood bastard.

Beerness, that good-for-nothing low-life metal brain,

And Selene, the only one who is remotely sane amongst the others, and yet is waaaay too crazy for his sanity to stay intact for more than ten minutes around her.

But that Moon dragon still was best friends with **her**, so she wasn't a complete waste of space, but still not enough to make him want to actually hangout with her.

Looking up at the stars, he could remember a conversation he had with his beloved friend before everything happened. While they were watching the stars after she got him hooked on them.

_"Look Ignia, a shooting star! We gotta make a wish!" She pointed at the sky, where a flaming comet just left a trail of shiny dust whilst on his journey across the galaxy._

_Ignia grunted as she shook his arm and disturbed his peaceful state "why would i wish something from a flaming rock? It's not like it's going to affect whether or not my wish comes true" in all honesty, Ignia sometimes had no idea how he was friends with her. She was so… weird. Always smiling, and dancing and twirling around in the middle of the forest while laughing, her long hair swishing around her and always get leaves caught in it. She used to drag him in his human form, human form!, To the festivals humans had in their pathetic little villages, and he always had to stand and watch as she danced all night long with the filthy meat bags, while the males all around her were ogling at her… lady parts and trying to make a pass at her. She always smiled at them and laughed from their lame jokes and stupid antics, but never let them get too close, because after all, she wasn't stupid. One time one of the males tried to grab her chest, and something just snapped in Ignia, telling him that if he were to burn that piece of crap to ashes he will be doing the world a favor. Before he managed to get to him though, she caught the male's hand and casually threw him behind her back headfirst into a pile of animal poop like she was doing nothing but flicking her hair away from her face. After that she grabbed Ignia's hand and dragged him away from the village, into the woods. He could feel she was upset, but didn't know what to do. He wasn't the best at handling situations involving feelings, she usually was the one to take care of him. As they slowed down, Ignia could feel her mood lifting up bit by bit, and realized he was picking up the salty smell of water, meaning she was taking him to the lake they saw earlier when they made their way to the village through the forest. The lake was wide, though it seemed pretty shallow. As the moon was full, it's reflection could be seen on the lake's surface, as well as all the stars that shone brightly. Turning to her, he saw she was staring at him, not the lake._

_She smiled at him, and then without further warning, pushed him into the water before taking off her golden ornaments and jumping in as well. He broke through the water's surface, wet to the bone and found her laughing at his dripping hair. Seeing that, it made him feel quite mischievous, so he grabbed her waist from behind and sent her squealing into the water, where she emerged from completely drenched and claimed he was cheating by catching her by surprise. The moonlight illuminated her dripping hair that stuck to her back, making it reflect its light as she grinned at him. In the end Ignia speculated that that night might not have been a complete disaster after all._

_"-nia, Ignia! Are you listening to me?" She shook his arm again._

_"Yeah. You were saying something about wishes and shooting stars or whatever" he sat up, facing her "i still think it's stupid"_

_"Look," she began, grabbing his hand with her own and pointing at the stars with her free one "just make a wish. That's all I'm asking you to do. And if it's a good wish, maybe it'll come true!" She smiled at him confidently._

_"Ugh, fine! But I'm only doing it to stop your whining" he gave in, both of them knowing he can't say no to her no matter what._

_She smiled at him, her eyes reflecting the stars, and he felt like the whole world just got brighter. "That's all I'm asking" she repeated, squeezing his hand._

_"What are you gonna wish for?" He asked her while they were waiting for another shooting star to appear in the sky._

_"I'm going to ask for…" she stopped and giggled "you know what? I'm not telling' you!" She laughed wholeheartedly into her free hand at the hurt expression on his face._

_"The hell?! Then I'm not telling you!" He retorted and turned his back to her, faking a pout._

_"Oh come on, Igni" she used his nickname, meaning whatever she said next will make him forgive her "it's just that I'm a bit embarrassed about it, that's all" she poked his puffed cheek in playfulness._

_Sighing and knowing he was doomed either way, he gave up "fine. But if you won't tell me I won't tell you too. That way we're even"_

_She held out her hand towards him "deal?"_

_He shook her hand "deal."_

_"And just in time as well," she pointed at the sky "look!" _

_Looking up, a new meteor shower graced the starry night with shining trails of dust. He felt her letting go of him and looked over at the one who he considered the most important person of his life, and saw that she closed her eyes and held her hands in a prayer. so, he did the same and closed his eyes, wishing for the only thing he could ever need._

_A few days afterwards, the war could not be ignored anymore, and they and all of their friends were forced to fight at the front row against the powerful mages of the enemy. And few weeks after that, in a battle that took everything from him, he stopped believing in wishes all together. knowing that wishes are a lie foolish human believe in. and not once did he ever hear about a wish coming true. No, he stopped believing in wishes when he saw his own perish in front of him._

_Because he wished for him and her to always be able to watch the night sky together._

_But that could never happen again._

Shaking his head from those thoughts, he looked up once more in time to see a single shooting star crossing the sky. Sighing, he knew that even though he doesn't believe in wishes anymore, he needs to try one more time, he needs to make this last wish, for the little chance that it might help.

_I wish i could tell her how i really felt, that time under the stars._

Closing his eyes, he felt a single tear rolling down his cheek. allowing himself to drift off into the dream realm, he hoped that maybe tonight, he would be able see another memory from the time he was happy.

The time he was with her.

* * *

_Draseel, the next day…_

"Freedom!" Natsu ran around the streets of Draseel. The clean air was great, smelling of freshly baked bread and newly cut wood. The train ride was horrible, and he was close to jumping out the window and end it all a few times. But arriving at the city, he forgot his thoughts about misery and marveled on the sheer size of it. Being bigger than Crucus and far more architecturally advanced, Draseel was indeed a sight to behold for Natsu and his team, who's own country was nothing like this. As he walked down the street, he recalled his private conversation with Mercphobia before they left Elmina.

_"Natsu," the Water God Dragon called after the pink-haired mage "may i talk to you in private?" _

_Erza grabbed Lucy and Wendy by the shoulders "let's go. Natsu, when you're done, meet us at the entrance to the city." She dragged them off, with Gray and the Exceeds following them._

_Turning to the horned man, Natsu crossed his arms on his chest "so, what's up?" He felt this conversation is going to be quite grim._

_"I meant what I said earlier" Mercphobia opened "the other Dragon Gods are nothing like me. Each one of them is stronger and fiercer for even a Dragon to handle, and Ignia is the worst of them all. He's nothing like what he used to be. He is more ferocious and wicked, with a twisted way of thinking and a thirst for destruction. You cannot defeat him."_

_Natsu lifted his eyebrow, a bit annoyed "seems like you two really don't like each other huh?" He didn't like it when people told him it was impossible for him to do something, like they had no faith in him. He experienced that many times with Future Rogue, Zeref and Acnologia, all of which he fought and won against, even if it took everything he had and more. And now Mercphobia was telling him that no matter what he'd do, he'll still won't be able to win against the prick Ignia._

_Mercphobia sighed and shook his head, like he could hear the Dragon "it's not that I don't believe in you. I do! It's just that… look, me and Ignia might not see eye to eye now, but it wasn't always like this. We used to be close friends" Natsu's face furrowed "oh? Then what happened?" He asked._

_"The same thing that made Acnologia who he is," the horned dragon looked down "he lost someone precious to him"_

_Natsu gritted his teeth. Losing someone important to you is something he has a lot of experience with. Igneel and Future Lucy were the prime example, with each of them alone being one of his most cherished people._

_"Was whoever he lost… important to him?" The Dragon Slayer looked up at the Water God who smiled at him with nostalgia "important? Try the most precious and adored person in his life. His roar of rage and heartbreak on the battlefield was so loud you could hear it from miles away. It was tragic."_

_Natsu could understand that. When he thought Lucy was dead, he became a literal Demon. And if Ignia lost someone who meant so much to him, he could feel himself relate to the Fire Dragon God. But…_

_"I still have to defeat him in order to finish the quest." Natsu reminded Mercphobia who nodded. "I know, and I think it needs to be done as well. He's been on the rampage for years; he needs to be stopped. But he isn't like anything you faced before. Strength is not what's going to win you a battle against him. You'll have to find another way of fighting. Another method. Only then will you be able to defeat him and complete your mission."_

_Natsu nodded in agreement. "Don't you worry. I will train hard until I'd be able to take him down with a single punch!" He moved his fist up in the air, to further prove his point._

_Mercphobia laughed and patted the pink-headed dragon's shoulder "don't ever change, my friend. Until then, however, i suggest you try your luck with the other Dragons first. Maybe Aldron. He's strong, but if you can take him down, the other two will be a piece of cake."_

_Natsu grinned at him "will do man! I'm all fired up!"_

"Natsu! Will you wait up?!" Lucy called behind him. Her hair in cute long pigtails and wearing a long sleeved, pink golf shirt with frills on the chest area, and a cute frilly black and white skirt. To her feet she donned her usual combat boots, and her whip and keys were tied to her belt which rested on her hips a little uneven.

Behind her Erza, wearing her usual armor and skirt combo, was dragging her luggage while Wendy, Carla and Happy were chatting with Gray, who was looking at the map of the city. They took two of them when they left the train station, in case of someone getting lost or the group separated. The woman who handed them the map asked if this was the first time they visited Draseel. When they answered positively, she giggled into her hand and warned them that this city is a little… tricky for new people. Not that they had any idea what she meant by it.

Finally reaching him, Lucy made her pouting face, where she puffed one of her cheeks in annoyance and cross her arms across her chest. He knew that he might have ran too fast in the excitement of a new city to explore and the feeling of freedom from the "death trap" called train, but man, if she was going to make faces like this every time he does something like that, he might just run off a lot more. The way she was pouting was just so adorable. Though he knew that even if that's what he thought, saying it out loud was not an option. It seems people just can't handle it well when he says something to compliment them or not being a complete dense idiot.

He grinned at her "sorry Luce. My bad. Just couldn't wait to check out the city y'know?" He waved behind him at the arches and brick walls around them.

Lucy just rolled her eyes and smiled "sure. Just next time, wait for everyone" she forgave him "but you have a point, this place is incredible!" She spinned around to try and catch it all with her eyes.

Erza appears from behind them with Wendy, Gray and the Exceeds "indeed. This is quite the sight" she agreed with Lucy "now, shall we get a room?"

They all cheered at the thought of a chance to lay back and bath after that long train ride "i hope they have yummy fishies here!" Happy exclaimed excitedly "I'm hoping they have decent bath here." Lucy pointed out "oh!" Her eyes lit up "look there! It's a hot springs inn! Can we go there Erza? Please please please?" She begged the scarlet knight.

"A hot spring? Well, it does sounds tempting. Why not?" Lucy and Wendy cheered and ran towards the large wooden inn, who had a big sign at front announcing "Sunflower Hot Springs Inn" is open for business. Shrugging, Natsu followed the girls together with Gray and Happy. He never understood the girls constant need for baths. He took one once a week and he was fine. Though Lucy does complain when he sleeps in her bed all sweaty. What a weirdo.

Entering the inn, Natsu got the feeling that someone was watching him. He turned around to see if his suspicions are right only to realize that there's no one there.

"Hey Natsu! You coming?" Happy called to him from the check-in counter.

Glancing one last time around, Natsu decided that it was just his imagination. Walking back to his friends, he convinced himself that he's just tired from the train and needs a good night's sleep.

From the corner of the inn, a character engulfed in shadows watch the team of adventurers who just checked in. More importantly, the person focused on the pink-haired one.

_Natsu Dragneel _they thought to themselves _you play a big part in this plan. Question is, will you succeed, or will you die trying? I'll be waiting to see how it plays out. Salamander of Fairy Tail._

* * *

_At the Hot Springs…_

The girls sighed in content as they soaked their bodies in the hot springs' water. After not showering for at least 5 days, they deserved it.

It was an outdoor bath, so the man's baths were on the other side of the thick wooden wall. They could hear Natsu and Happy's voices echoing from the other side, though they couldn't understand what they were talking about since the wall was very high. Dipping in deeper into the hot water, Lucy allowed herself to relax. The train ride was awful, but it was worth it if it meant soaking herself inside this heavenly water. Though, there was only one thing that bothered her…

_Why is this city so… off? _She wondered. Something was definitely not right. The feeling she got the moment they got off the train was… odd. She knew that there was a lot of magic presence in big cities such as this one, but the magic she got was not from the people. No, it was from the city itself.

Her thoughts were cut short when she heard a large "BANG!" from the other side of the baths, then Happy's laughter and Gray's cackling, followed by Natsu demanding they'd shut up, to which they ignored and continued laughing at him. Sighing, Lucy knew it was only a matter of time before something will get burned, freezed or slimy from fish, and it might be best for her to get out from the baths before she's dragged into the mess.

"I'm done with my bath. You girls coming?" She turned to the other females. They all declined her offer politely, saying that they would prefer to soak in the springs a little bit more before getting out. Nodding, Lucy grabbed her towel headed towards the inner room of the baths, where they took off their clothes and laid them in the baskets that were meant for it before entering the water. When they first came in, Lucy noticed that there was a selection of yukatas in a variety of colors for after-the-bath wear. Choosing a cute pink one with white stripes and cherry blossom flowers embroidered onto the front, she finished tying the wine-colored sash around her waist and stepped out of the female baths by moving the red, thick curtain with the word "Woman" on it in white, immediately bumping into someone's chest and knocking them to the ground while falling on top of them.

"Ouch. Jeez Luce, look where're going." Natsu sat up and robbed the back of his head, his men's yukata sleeve falling down, revealing his shoulder and a bit of his muscular arm. Realizing that she was _one_, staring at him and _two_, still on top of him, she scrambled to get off him and made sure that her yukata is still on her unlike his.

"Sorry about that. I was lost in thoughts" she apologized to him as she bent down and forwarded her hand towards him to help him get up. He grinned at her and grabbed her hand, pulling himself up. They stayed quiet for a few minutes, only for Lucy to realize that she still didn't let go of his hand, and they were in fact, still holding each other's hand. Quickly pulling away, she moved her hands behind her back and started walking towards their rooms. "You coming?" She looked back at him. He shook his head as if shaking away bad thoughts and ran after her, stopping by her side and walking down the hall.

"Where are Gray and Happy?" She started a conversation. Honestly Natsu being quiet was a bit unsettling.

"They wanted to soak some more. I'm used to the hit so the moment i got cleaned i got out." He told her, placing his hands behind his head as support. Lucy made a soft 'oh' and continued walking in silence with him. Something was seriously wrong. Usually they'd have tons of stuff to say, but ever since Natsu had that dream he told her about he's been quiet. Always deep in thoughts and having a blank expression on his face. She tried talking to him but it seemed like he was completely closed, which was so unlike him it unsettled her greatly.

As they arrived at the room, she went into the girls room and heard Natsu following suite, probably because he would have been lonely in a room alone. The room was pretty spacious, with wooden floors and walls, as well as sliding doors. The only window was located on the biggest wall of the room, just across from the door and two chairs and a table beneath it. It was round and blinds from, you guessed it- wood, were keeping it shut. She walked up to the window and opened it. A cool breeze hit her face gently, and she closed her eyes and breathed slowly. Looking at the sky, she let herself bath in their light and tried to feel the connection between her and them. But a moment afterwards, she gasped in pain and fell to her knees, clutching her shoulder.

"Lucy!" Natsu rushed to her side, picking her up and looking around for any intruders that might have hurt her "what's wrong?" He asked frantically. Honestly, even if she wanted, she couldn't tell him as she had no idea what the hell was happening to her. It seems every time she thinks about the stars her body reacts negatively and starts hurting. She heard the door opening and Erza calling "what happened?!" While Gray, Wendy, Happy and Carla gasped as they saw Natsu on his knees, with Lucy in his arms while the latter is having trouble breathing and clutches her shoulder like her life is on the line.

"I don't know!" Natsu answered, clearly in distress "once second she was fine and looking out the window, the next thing i know she's suddenly on the floor and gasping like she didn't breathe in years!"

"Did you just say gasping?" Gray asked in shock.

"Is that really what you're going to focus on right now?!" Natsu questioned him in disbelief "it was clearly something from the window, so close the damned window already would 'ya?!" He ordered.

Erza rushed to the window and slammed it shut. The moment it hit the frame Lucy was able to relax and let go of her shoulder. Everyone in the room gave a sigh of relief as she rose up to a sitting position and looked around. They were all watching her in anticipation, but she just shrugged her shoulders and said "so… dinner?"

* * *

_30 minutes later..._

"And you have no idea why that happened?" Natsu asked her while stuffing his mouth with meat. They ordered room service and were currently eating dinner in the girls' room while questioning Lucy on her "issue" from earlier.

It worried everyone sick since they learned it wasn't the first time it happened to her. It kinda made him angry that she didn't tell him about it but said she didn't think it was anything serious so she kept quiet.

Lucy shook her head " no. I have no idea how it happened or why. All i know is that i was looking at the stars and thinking about them when it happened." She used her chopsticks to bring more rice into her mouth from her small bowl.

Erza swallowed her drink "still, it is very disturbing that it has happened. Please alert me if it happens again." She poured more sake into her small cup. Lucy nodded and assured her that she will. Wendy was eating and chatting with Carla while Happy was devouring his fish and Gray eliminating his meat.

Lucy grabbed some steamed vegetables from the communal bowl. "Anyway, weird pains aside, tomorrow we should probably start looking for Aldron. He's supposed to be huge but then again this city isn't that small either." And she made a good point. Igneel was quite big himself but in this city, he would've been hard to spot as well.

"although, something did bother me earlier," she continued " it was in the map. hold on, I'll find it." She got up and walked to her bag, pulling out a map of the city. "Uh…found it!" She yelled out as she waved the map in victory and walked back towards the table before stopping mid-step "uh... guys? Is the table shaking?" She asked.

Natsu furrowed his face in confusion " how much did you drink Luce?" He asked her.

"I didn't you idiot! Look, the table is shaking!" She pointed at the table. At this point he saw that all their drinks are rattling and the bowls and plates were slowly making their way across the table with each shake.

"Not just the table, the whole inn is shaking!" Gray called in panic "it might be an earthquake! We need to get outside!"

They quickly got up and ran outside, only to see that all the city was shaking and people were holding on to whatever they could. Surprisingly though, nobody was screaming in horror. It was like they were used to it. Natsu approached an old woman who was sitting on her knees in the middle of the street "excuse me, what's going on around here? Why isn't anybody freaking out?" He asked her. The woman smiled at him nicely "oh! You must be tourists. This is a normal accuracy in Draseel. We're used to it, though I could see how it might be scary seeing it for the first time."

Erza intervened in the conversation "so you have earthquakes here often?!" She asked in panic.

The woman laughed "earthquakes? Oh no dear. This is no such thing."

Wendy let out a small squeak "uh, guys? T-the ground is lifting up!" She was right. As the ground lifted, they had to fight to stay on their legs.

The woman shifted so she'd be more comfortable sitting like that and said "now, let's just pray to the great trees." She moved her hands together in a prayer.

_Trees? She doesn't mean…_ There's no chance that Natsu was right. Lucy made a startled noise as her map flew out of her hand and she got a look at it "the city… it's in the shape of a hand!" She called out in distress as suddenly a large shadow began to cover them all, bringing darkness to the streets.

"Indeed, it is dear," the elder woman said as the shadow began to cover the street they were in "Draseel's right hand. Or rather…" she pointed up, and they looked there, their eyes immediately widening in fear and disbelief. Above them, towered a massive dragon, so big the he was able to cast shadow over all Draseel in her full size. His neck was thick at the base but became thinner as it got closer to the head, which had a small, mask like face, with small, dot like eyes and a huge cut that seemed to be his mouth. A huge tree could be seen on his back, and it seemed like his entire body was made of tree roots.

"The great Wood God Dragon, Aldron's right hand." The woman finished her sentence.

"Aldron..." Erza whispered.

"This city's on top of a hand?!" Gray called in disbelief.

Lucy held her hand close to her chest "wait, so you're saying right now… we're…"

"On top of Aldron…" Wendy completed the sentence with a mere whisper.

Natsu looked at the face of the dragon, his eyes wide and his face sweaty from stress.

"I heard he was huge," he couldn't fathom this at all "but... this is way to big…"

* * *

**And cut! Phew, this was a tough one.**

**I was going to upload it sooner, but life kept trying to make me do things and i couldn't make time to write more than a few hundred words a day.**

**I try to do each chapter at least 5 or 6k words, and it is a task. But now I managed to free up a lot of weeks for a few months so updates would be smoother and less long.**

**Do realize that English is not my native language and I will make grammar mistakes as the story progresses, but I will get better. **

**For another thing, about the ending of this chapter, yes. I did look at the last panels of chapter 27 of the real manga for information. I would like this story to be as much canon as it can be, such as character design and personality as well as having the story itself that I planned. So yeah, Aldron does look the same as he is in the manga, and I will try and make his personality similar too. Emphasis on "try". This also includes Ignia and Touka. Yes Touka. I didn't forget her, and I do plan on featuring her and the rest of the guild in this story as well, though not before chapter 4 at least.**

**Welp, I think that's it for today. Don't forget to favorite, review and follow since I need the support to actually do stuff in my life. Building criticism will be helpful.**

**Until next time!**

**Snowwaffles. **


	3. Arc 1 Chapter 3

** Family is More Than Blood**

Arc 1 Chapter 3: Transparent Souls, Dragons and White

* * *

_ Draseel, Sunflower Inn..._

They were in shock.

It was a bit unrealistic how shocked they all looked. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it reminded Lucy the time were Wendy told her and Natsu that she belongs in Lamia Scale.

Aldron the Wood Dragon. The huge Wood Dragon. With no less than five cities on his body, each one as big as Draseel. And they were supposed to seal him, whatever that means.

From what Mercphobia told them, Aldron can read minds. So, a giant dragon that is able to carry five whole cities on his hands and shoulders and can also read minds is their opponent. Yup. They're going to die.

It was now the late hours of the morning, and Aldron's giant head was laying on the ground next to his hands, meaning they had a full view of his mountain like wooden snout from the city. It seemed like he has specific times to move at, like last night. As none of the civilians looked surprised, she assumed that they are already aware of the dragon's moving schedule.

From her right, Natsu suddenly shot up "I can't take this anymore! I need to get out now!" He yelled, stomping around the room angrily. Lucy understood that. Natsu was never one to just sit in one place for long, and they've been sitting in that room for more than 5 hours straight. Thinking about it, she could use a quick stretch of limbs. Maybe looking around the city will give them more information on Aldron. She got out of her chair, turned to Erza and Gray " I think I'll take Natsu for a walk. Want to come along? We might learn something about this city and the whole dragon ordeal." She offered. Erza shook her out as if awaking from a trance and nodded "Indeed. A walk might be useful for us all. Join us, Gray?" She turned to the Demon-Slayer. Gray shrugged "better than sitting 'round here, I suppose" he got up and stuck his hand in his pockets. Or tried, at least, since his pant have magically disappeared whilst he was getting up from his laying position on the floor. Sighing in defeat, Erza grabbed his pants from the floor next to her and handed them over to him with the usual "Gray, your clothes."

"Alright let's go!" Natsu enthusiastically cheered as he started to make his way to the door. Lucy took a look at Wendy, realizing the girl has not spoken for a while now "what about you Wendy? Want to come with us?" She asked the young Dragon Slayer. Wendy shook her head and clutched her dress. She seemed awfully nervous and kept glancing at the open window that gave a full view of the street at eye level, since the inn was the ground level type to give a better access for the springs. Something clearly bothered the blue-haired mage, but looking at the window, Lucy saw nothing that could possibly be of any disturbance. Deciding that if the girl didn't say anything it's probably not a big deal, Lucy shook those thoughts out of her head made sure that her keys and whip are attached to her hip. Seeing as everyone were ready to go, she made her way to the door. Erza turned around one last time and looked directly at the white exceed sitting in the lap of the young mage and the latter herself, and said "look after everything here. We will return shortly. If anyone tries to break in or hurt you, I give you my approval to use any force necessary." And with that line, made her way out of the door in her almost-royalty like manner. Gray and Natsu followed suit, with Happy in the rear. Rolling her eyes, Lucy exited the room with a small wave to Wendy, whom she returned in kind. Right before completely closing the door, she noticed the girl was already back to staring wide eyed at the window, at seemingly nothing. The door completely shut, Lucy frowned and wondered if it might be better to go in there again and ask the young mage what's wrong, before Natsu came from out of nowhere and dragged her off behind him by the wrist. Suddenly forgetting about what she thought earlier, she focused on lecturing him on the way out of the inn on the right way to treat a lady, to which he nodded to and ignored her, yet again.

_Ugh, I have a feeling this is going to be a disaster _she predicted grimly.

If only she knew how right she was…

* * *

_ Back at the girls' room at the inn…_

Wendy was freaking out.

While thinking how small she was in comparison to the universe and wondering if anything she does really matters (thanks to the giant dragon who made her question life itself because of his sheer size) she kept feeling this weird energy closing in on her. At first, she just assumed it was one of her friends' magic or a mage in the city passing by, but after sometime, she noticed that the energy stopped moving. And in fact, was just next to her by the window. Thinking she might have gone insane and she is now losing it because of the encounter with that huge dragon, she didn't even bother to glance at the window. None of her friends seemed to notice something's up and she decided that if Erza or Natsu didn't look the least bit worried, there was no reason for her to get all nervous.

That didn't go so well.

As if it felt like it's being ignored. The energy, which now Wendy recognized as Ethernano, flared up like it was trying to catch her attention. After feeling that, she knew that she wasn't imagining stuff, and turned to quickly glance at the window, immediately getting shocked by what she saw.

Leaning on the windowsill, a young woman about Lucy's age clad in a white skirt and top stood. Her long black and pink hair poured freely behind her back and her soft, shimmering black eyes looked at Wendy playfully as a small satisfied smile adorned her pale face. Her arms were crossed and one of her ornament-donned legs was up against the wall in the nonchalant way Wendy have seen Gray and Natsu stand sometimes when they have to wait somewhere with no chairs. Blinking, she shook her head and looked again, believing that the woman was just a fruit of her imagination. She was not. As Wendy glanced at the room, she noted that none of the others are able to see the mysterious woman on the window, meaning that they'd probably won't hear her as well. Sending glances at the window every couple of seconds to make sure the black-haired woman didn't disappear, she contemplated on how to continue from there. She could tell everyone what she's seeing, and either be considered insane or be told to rest because she's starting to hallucinate due to lack of sleep, or she could wait until she's alone and figure the whole thing out.

option two sounded better.

So, she waited. And soon after, the gods have heard her prayers and made the others get up and leave the room to look around the city. Making sure she can no longer hear them with her enhanced sense of hearing, she looked down at her exceed and steeled herself for what she was about to explain to the white feline next.

"Carla," she opened, gaining the white cat's attention "there's a person in the room."

Carla took a long look at her, before sighing in resignation and turning to fully face her "alright. What do they want?" She asked whilst massaging her forehead.

Wendy blinked in surprise "wait, you believe me?" She asked her friend in shock.

Carla pinched the fur above her eye "of course I believe you child. One of your greatest qualities is your honesty. I don't find any reason for you to lie to me. So, if you say there is a person in the room that apparently only you can see, it's probably true." Wendy was grateful again for having such a wonderful companion that believes her no matter how insane she may sound. She quickly explained the events of the last hour. Carla listened carefully as Wendy described the situation, focusing more on how the woman looks if she seems like a threat. Meanwhile the young woman involved changed her position from standing to sitting on the edge of the windowsill, her hair staying in place even though a light breeze was entering the room from behind her. A golden shimmer caught Wendy's eye as she noticed that the golden ornament she'd seen around the older girl's ankle was in fact on the other ankle as well, plus both her wrists. They were thick gold bands with a small, round red diamond inlaid in the middle of each of them, glimmering from the sun light. The ornaments were beautiful, no doubt. But to Wendy, they reminded more of Magic Cuffs. The kind that prevents one from using magic.

Wendy didn't think the older teen looked like a threat. She seemed friendly and nice, and had this warm aura around her. The one that makes one feel at home. Not standing the silence any longer though, she decided to take action.

Standing up, she turned to the mysterious stranger on her window "excuse me, but who are you?" She asked her.

Instead on an answer, the almost-adult looking older teen jumped from the window on to the ground outside the room and motioned for Wendy to follow her.

"Wendy, what did she say?" Carla asked her.

Wendy started to make her way to the window "she didn't say anything. I- I think she wants me to follow her though." She climbed out the window slowly and stood in front of the dark-haired woman. Up close, the blunette was shorter than the young woman, her head reaching a bit above her elbow, but still a few centimeters shorter from her shoulder. She heard a movement behind her, realizing that Carla has taken off into the air with her wings and hovered above the two females. Looking back at the woman, she saw that she has already ran up ahead, or floated up ahead, as she glided a few inches above ground whilst moving. Following her to the busy streets, Wendy managed to mingle with the crowds that flooded the market, but lost the floating woman in the process.

She looked back to see if the woman stopped somewhere or took a turn, but she didn't manage to locate anyone with black and pink hair, or hovering above the ground, anywhere near her. Carla was higher in the sky so she can have a better view of Wendy without attracting too much attention to them as a flying cat.

Turning back to face forward, see got startled as the woman was right in front of her, smiling calmly and offering her hand for Wendy to hold "ah! Thank you…" Wendy thanked her as she moved to hold the woman's hand, before having her hand phase through her completely. _That's strange… can she be a spirit of some sort?_ Wendy wondered. She certainly felt like a spirit. Either way, it seems that she couldn't grab the young woman's hand since she'd just phase through it. It seemed like the woman understood that as well, and her eyes looked unfocused, like she's not really there and Wendy assumed that's probably because she's thinking. Suddenly, the woman's eyes cleared and her face lit up as if she had an idea. Holding her hand close to her chest, she closed her eyes in concentration. Slowly, a golden glow erupted from the palm of her hand, and she opened her eyes and examined the results of whatever she had done. Looking happy with the outcome, she reached her still-glowing palm for Wendy to grab. Hesitant, the young Dragon Slayer looked at the floating woman's eyes and saw nothing but faith that it will work this time, so she decided to try again, and managed to grab the woman's hand. Surprised, he eyes widened as she looked at their linked hand. The spirit's hand felt warm and her grip was strong, but didn't hurt. The palm that Wendy was holding was made of flesh and blood, yet in close inspection, the woman's part of the arm that was not covered by the golden bracelet was a bit see through, and when the soon shun directly at them her arm was barley seeable. the spirit was now dragging her along, navigating through the crowds and leading her to the quieter streets. Looking up she made sure that Carla was still with them, and thankfully she was, but Wendy also spotted Aldron's head lying on the ground next to the city. It seemed like his face was getting bigger and bigger, before Wendy realized that they were getting closer and closer to him. They were moving for more than an hour in silence, and the streets were getting smaller and quieter. Suddenly, she noticed that they were out of the city. Looking around, all she saw was mountains and hills. A forest in the distance, and a glimmering lake far away. The woman's grip on her got stronger, as she started to float faster forward, right towards the big mountain in front of them.

Panicked, she asked "uh… what's going on? Where are you taking me?" She was a bit freaked out by the sudden change in atmosphere. Before it felt calming and quiet, but now it felt rushing and maybe even a little dangerous. But she still didn't feel any hostility from the young woman, which was the only thing stopping her from fighting against her.

The spirit didn't answer again, but now Wendy noticed that she was literally flying towards the mountain, and that Wendy was flying with her! The both flew so fast everything became a blur, and they were about to hit that mountain head on. Everything was moving so fast that Wendy didn't have time realize what was going on and could only note that the golden glow from their linked hands now have spread itself to surround Wendy's body as well, so she was engulfed in light. The mountain was fast approaching and not being able to move due to the death grip the woman now had at her arm she could only brace herself and close her eyes tightly as they came into collision with the mountain and-

…

…

The impact from the mountain never came.

Still not daring to open her eyes, she focused on making sure all of her body was connected.

Legs? Check.

Arms and hands? Check.

Torso and chest? Check.

Organs? Check.

Head? Check.

All body parts are accounted for.

Finally mustering up the courage to open her eyes, she cracked them slowly, and saw that they had stopped moving, and that the woman was no longer near her. Opening her eyes fully, so stood up from the crouched position she was in, and took in her surroundings in awe.

In front of her laid the sleeping head of Aldron, his large, plank like face and with the small slits for his eyes and mouth closed. It appears he was sleeping, which, considering that he could only move at very specific times made sense. Wendy speculated that if she couldn't move almost all day she'd be sleeping too.

Checking the scenery, she tried to map out where she was geographically-biology on Aldron's hand. They were on his right hand, which meant that the part that was closest to the face was… the thumb? If she had to guess, she'd say she was at the base of the Wood Dragon's thumb. Great. Now to the reason she was currently standing at the base of a dragon's thumb…

She found the Spirit Lady, as she decided to name her, standing about 40 meters away from her, closer to the dragon. Looking around as she made her way to said spirit, she saw that there was a huge forest next to the mountains she fazed through earlier. Glancing behind her shoulder, she saw that the mountains were tall, and it would probably take a while for Carla to be able to fly above them and reach her, assuming she hadn't been declared dead yet by disappearing into a mountain. The ground was filled with short and soft grass but slowly faded into dirt the closer she got to the edge of the hand.

Finally reaching the floating woman, she found that she was standing nearly at the edge of the hand, and that she'd probably have to come up with a new word for huge because it was doing no justice to the sleeping head in front of her.

Deciding to ignore the dragon, she turned to the woman beside her "so, what are we doing here?" She inquired.

The woman crouched down on the ground, sitting on her heels and tried to write something in the dirt, which didn't work as her finger fazed through it and sunk deeper into the earth. Looking frustrated, she pulled her hand out and stared at her finger in concentration until it glowed softly, to which Wendy assumed meant that it made it physical, and started writing again.

She drew a large circle on the ground with a smaller circle in the middle of it. Around the small circle she wrote the numbers 1-5 and wrote 6 inside the smaller circle itself. After finishing writing it, she swiftly drew a large "X" on the number 1. Looking satisfied with her work, she glanced at Wendy nodding like she had just answered all of the young girl's questions. She didn't. Wendy felt even more confused by what was happening now.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you want from me." She apologized to the woman. In retort, the woman puffed her cheek in annoyance and pointed at number 2 in the circle. Then she dragged her finger in the air from number 2 to Aldron's sleeping face, and then back. She looked at Wendy as if saying "you get it now?" But Wendy still felt lost.

Aldron was number two? That didn't make any sense. He was a dragon, a dragon that she and her friends had been sent to seal away. They already sealed Mercphobia's powers away, or so they've been told by the Water Dragon himself. But wait… didn't that woman cross out the number 1 from the drawing? Does that mean that the other four numbers are the other dragons they need to seal? And is the Spirit Lady telling her that Aldron is next?

"Do the numbers you wrote… represent the Holy Pentadrakes? And the fact that you crossed out number 1 is because we have defeated him already?" She asked the woman hesitantly. The spirit's face lit up like a candle and Wendy guess that she must have been correct, so continued "and the other numbers are for Selene, Beerness, Ignia and Aldron right?" Spirit Lady nodded excitedly with a smile on her face. Delighted that she guessed correctly, she smiled as she stated "and we need to seal them all away too right?" Expecting the woman to be as delighted as she is, only to find her widened eyed and shaking her head furiously.

"What do you mean no? Our mission is to defeat them and seal them away. We have to." The Spirit Lady looked terrified from the very thought of the idea. She made her finger glow again as she started writing in what Wendy recognized as ancient Fiorian, the lost language of Fiore that was once used during the Dragon Age. Wendy could read a little thanks to what Grandeeney had taught her before she disappeared. But she wasn't fluent in it, and only managed to recognize the words "Ignia", "Seal", "Milky Way" and the most disturbing one of all, "Dragneel".

Turning to the Spirit Lady, she noticed something about as equally unsettling; the woman was fading away. Her legs, midsection, and arms below the elbow were already gone, and the rest of her was becoming transparent quickly as well. It seemed to be causing the black-haired woman to suffer, and she seemed to be struggling as her lips suddenly glowed while the rest of her became almost unseen, and she opened her glowing mouth only to blurt out a single sentence before she disappeared completely. she said "leave." And then she was gone.

"WAIT!" Wendy yelled after her. "What do you mean by 'leave'? Leave where?" But the woman was already gone.

"Wendy!" She heard Carla's voice behind her. Turning around, the white Exceed leaped from the sky into the arms of the young Dragon Slayer, snuggling up to her. "I was so worried about you!" Carla told her in anger.

Wendy smiled at her reassuringly, but she was too shocked to actually say something considering what she had gone through at the last couple of minutes. Turning back to where Spirit Lady has faded, her knees gave out and she fell to the floor in front of the drawing while she was hugging Carla close to her chest.

Carla noticed the drawing, and wriggled her way out of Wendy's hold and stood before it. She held her head between her hands like she does when she gets a vision and concentrated for a couple of seconds, before yelping in surprise and jumping away from the scribble on the dirt.

"What's wrong?!" Wendy asked her, making sure that the feline couldn't see the drawing that caused her distress.

"I had a vision," Carla explained. "I looked at the numbers, and number 5 caught my eye. So, when I focused on it, I saw Ignia in his dragon form, spitting Hell Fire at the Magia Dragon guild master, Elefseria. It seemed that they were in a battle to the death." She seemed so shocked from the vision Wendy didn't want to imagine what kind of horror it must look like.

"That's not good. Your visions usually come true, and if you saw the two of them fighting, it means that we're there as well. When we see the others, you have to tell them what you saw so we'll be prepared." Although a bit pervy, Elefseria didn't strike Wendy as a bad person, and she would hate to see him get hurt. But if they were there with Elefseria in the future, it must mean that they won against Aldron, and maybe the other two dragons as well. And that's something good. She looked up at the napping dragon _but as to how we defeat Aldron… _she pondered.

"We should probably go back." Carla told her. "The others may have come back and are wondering where we are as we speak"

Wendy nodded, but for some reason she couldn't stop staring at Aldron's face. Something felt… off. A memory of what Mercphobia told them came up in her head.

_Aldron the Wood God Dragon. The biggest dragon in the world. He can read thoughts with his magic._

_If he can read thoughts…_ she had an idea. A young tree stood near her, so she slowly approached it and positioned her hand on the trunk. Closing her eyes, she ignored Carla's questioning of what she was doing and instead pictured her mind as a closed gate, then she opened the gate and imagined her thoughts streaming into the tree she held. Waiting for some sort of reaction, she received none. feeling disappointed, she was about to turn and leave, before she remembered something; the whole city is connected to Aldron, as well as the other four. He must be hearing people's thoughts all day and have learned to ignore them with time. She has to somehow attract his attention. Something that will make her stand out, and also for him to know she's serious… and then it hit her.

Concentrating even harder, she said the only thing that will attract the giant sleeping dragon.

_Acnologia is dead._

Quiet surrounded her for a moment. As if someone pressed a mute button and silenced the world around her. Then she felt the tree trunk under her palm heating up, making her remove her hand to not get a burn with a yelp, before she heard Carla gasp.

Opening her eyes, she saw her partner staring at the direction of Aldron's head, her eyes widening and frozen in place. Looking at the dragon's face as well, she understood why Carla was looking terrified.

Aldron's eyes were open. And it seemed like he was looking straight at her. It lasted a mere second, before his eyes closed again and it looked like he went back to sleep.

Disappointed that it only worked for a second, Wendy contemplated on whether should she try attracting his attention again, but before she could move towards the tree again, she realized her leg was held back by a small tree root that bind itself to her ankle, but she could have sworn it wasn't there earlier.

Smiling, she crouched down and sat on the ground, feeling the root. Although it looked thin, its grip was as strong as a hand holding her down. It seemed that she did manage to steal the Wood Dragon's attention after all. So, she once again closed her eyes, and pictured the sleeping face of Aldron as she sent him a thought through the root that linked them.

_Hello?_

* * *

_ Meanwhile, on the streets of Draseel…_

First thing Natsu noticed about Draseel is that it was a really big city.

They went for a look around the busy streets, walking around aimlessly and checking out the stalls and shops the city had to offer. But Aldron's face was still the most amazing thing around. How can a dragon so… big, exist? Maybe because all he does is sleep all day which made the people think he was a statue or something. He mentioned it to Lucy, who said that she thought the old wooden dragon's face was, in her words: "quite adorable". What a weirdo.

"His body is so huge! How are we gonna defeat him?!" Happy said, flying above their heads and examining the sleeping dragon.

"Never mind that, there are still 4 more cities on this dragon. Cities full of innocent people leading peaceful lives. Wouldn't hurting Aldron in anyway would also affect them?" Lucy commented.

"Indeed. It's a legitimate concern." Erza agreed. "How does one even build a city on top of a dragon?" She questioned. It seemed like a good concern. Were the people not aware that they were building houses on a living being?

"It was from the request of Lord Aldron himself. Or so I've heard." A voice came from behind them. The whirled around in surprise, to find an elderly man covered with a hood standing with his head slightly leaning forward. Something about that man kind of bothered Natsu, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

The elder man continued his story "about 500 years ago, when my grandfather's grandfather was alive, the divine Wood Dragon Aldron told the people: 'build a town over my body.'. Or so I've been told."

Lucy tilted her head in curiosity "what for?"

The man shrugged "it is unknown. Or so I've been told." He turned to Erza "you're here traveling right?"

She nodded "yes, from Ishgar." To which he nodded and made a long 'oh~' sound.

He clapped his hands "...now then, come. I'll guide you through town." He turned back and signaled them to follow him.

Lucy and Erza went ahead with Happy, delighted. Gray, on the other hand, turned to Natsu "hey man, everything's okay?" He asked him.

Natsu shook his head in response. "Something about how the gramps smell… it feels off…" he couldn't put his finger on it though, and it made him a bit rattled.

Gray didn't seem all that concerned "maybe he just smells funny. Just forget about it" he waved him off and went ahead with the others.

Seeing as there was no seeable reason to worry, Natsu decided to let it go and ran up to join the group.

The old man took them to the shopping district (_"this is the shopping district. Tourists come here often. Or so I've heard"_) and showed them many plushies and merchandise of Aldron, that Lucy thought was simply "adorable" and spent a good twenty minutes haggling the price of a Happy size plushie of the giant dragon. He also took them to The Right-Hand Middle Finger Park (_"the water fountains are a sight to behold at night. Or so I've heard."_), The Ring Finger Amusement Park (_"fun for all the family! Or so I've heard"), _The Little Finger Lake (_"people barley ever drowned here! Or so I've heard.") _And finally, The Saint Raishun Church (_"it's so big!" Natsu and Happy yelled)_, where he worked. At least, that's what he heard.

He continued to tell them about the history of Draseel as they went inside the church "we, the people or Draseel, can never forget to pray our gratitude towards the earth, or in this case, towards Lord Aldron. The only reason we're here today is thanks to his sacrifice and kindness. And because of that…" he turned to them, and something in his eyes screamed "danger!" to Natsu. "And because of that, we can let people who threaten Lord Aldron simply do as they please. Or so I've heard."

Behind them, the door slammed shut, making them jump. Out of nowhere, candles lit up everywhere, lighting up the room but still giving it an ominous feeling that made Natsu uncomfortable. The sounds of footsteps coming their way was heard, and, appearing as if from thin air, were more than twenty people with robes covering their faces making their way towards Natsu and the others.

"This is one of the White Mage churches." Natsu turned to the old man who was now standing at the corner with a calm smile. "You were brought here because you have committed two sins." His body started to stretch and wiggle, like he turned into some kind of clay. "First, you possess far too powerful magic abilities that go against the teaching of the White Magic. Second, you came here in order to destroy Aldron."

Erza gasped "how did you-" "the White Mage knows everything, Erza." Mira told the redhead whilst leaning against her metal chest plate.

"Mira?!" Erza yelped in shock as she leaned away from the white-haired mage.

Lucy, Happy and Gray had similar reactions to the appearance of one of their close friends in another continent.

_So that smell was Mira's?! _Natsu realized_ But, wait…_

But there was no time to wait, as Mira suddenly aimed a punch towards Erza, who dodged it on reflex.

"What are you doing?!" She yelled at her long-time friend.

"Let's play like the old days, Erza." Something about Mira's voice was… dull. Like she was reading from a script.

"You… what…" Erza's coherent sentence was cut off by the chuckling of the other people in robes. Natsu's stopped breathing as the robed man took off their hoods and revealed the faces behind them.

His eyes widened as he watched his friends from the guild take of the cloths hiding their faces and revealing their lifeless eyes and smirks. They emitted a bad aura that usually came from his enemies and made his fingers twitch.

"Jellal's here?" Erza murmured when she recognized the blue-haired mage and long-time friend.

"Everyone… what's going on?!" Lucy cried out in shock as she watched all her guildmates spread out into two lines that face each other, making space in the middle like some sort of a pathway as sound of footsteps could be heard again, walking towards Natsu's group.

"To be honest… I really don't care about Aldron. He's just another evil that I will need to erase into whiteness someday…" said the silhouette as it made its way through the lines in the pathway formed thanks to the guild.

"But now… I'm focused on you." The silhouette came into light, revealing a young woman with white, curly hair, dressed in a frilly dress "once I'm done with you… Fairy Tail will finally be mine." She smiled sadistically.

"just who in the hell are you?!" Natsu yelled at her.

"whoa, Touka talks about her dear Natsu all the time, but her dear Natsu does not remember her? how sad." she didn't seem all that sad though, as she chuckled slightly. Natsu seemed to be taken aback at her words. was he supposed to know this girl?

"please wait a bit." she told them. "Mirajane, when I said to bring Natsu and his team to me, I meant all of them. where are the young enchantress and her cat?"

"I-I…" Mira trembled in fear.

the white-haired woman groaned in anger. "must i do everything in this place?" she questioned the Take-Over mage.

"please forgive me, lady White Mage." Mira apologized to the woman.

"Mira?!" Erza questioned her long-term rival at her actions.

the White Mage did not look happy at the slightest. "Elfman, Lisanna! punish Mirajane!" she commanded the two white haired siblings before turning away a bit and started to mumble to herself.

the two siblings then jumped Mira and started to stomp on her.

"how dare you not fulfil our leader's orders you useless thing?!" Elfman yelled at his elder sister while stomping his foot on her back.

"I have misjudged you elder sister!" Lisanna called, kicking Mira in the ribs over and over.

Natsu started forward "what the hell are you two doing? stop it!" he moved to forcefully remove them from Mira, before Gajeel suddenly appeared in his face

"do not interfere Salamander" he told him.

watching the scene, Lucy was shaking. _what is this? _she questioned. looking at the white-haired siblings hurt their beloved elder sister was horrible. _is this… a nightmare?_

"Jellal…" Erza whispered under her breath as she watched the blue haired man look at her with nothing more than loathing in his eyes.

the white mage kept on mumbling "why is the Enchantress missing? is it Touka's fault that the Enchantress is not present?"

in the meantime, Gray has been scanning the room. he looked at the people from the guild, trying to spot a light blue hair between everyone, but with no avail. it seemed Juvia was not present, which normally would have relieved him. but with this white-haired lunatic that says she wants to take over Fairy Tail, who knows what she could have done to the innocent water mage?

Natsu growled at the white mage. "what did you do to everyone?" he asked her, moving backwards to better block the hostile guild from getting near his team.

"nothing much," answered the woman "I just tainted them all white" she explained, her dull eyes almost looking beyond him.

"white? what does that mean?" Erza asked her, her hand slowly sneaking to the hilt of her sword.

Touka waved her off "oh nothing you should be concerned with at the moment. this guild has been getting way too powerful, and it goes against our religion. so I simply had to turn them all white to keep an eye on them." she looked at them "it's fine if you don't understand. i promise you will once i turn you white too!" she then lifted her hand and shot a wave of white energy over to their direction.

they didn't have time to move before the spell hit them.

they all froze in place as their magic was being drained from their bodies. beads of sweat were covering their faces as they fought the drowsiness that surrounded them.

"c-can't move…" Lucy struggled against it. she and the others have been weakening by the second.

"Body Anomaly Reversal Spell, raise!**" **a voice behind them called

Wendy landed before them, as they realized that the white spell had lost its effect and they were back to normal. "Wendy!" Natsu called happily "how did you know where we were?"

"it doesn't matter right now. we need to go!" Carla told them from her place in the air.

Gray clenched his fist. "leave it to me! Ice Make: Wall!" he created a thick wall of ice between them and the corrupted guild. "with that thick of a wall, they'll have a hard time getting through. let's go!" he turned and bolted out of the entrance to the church with Lucy, Happy Wendy and Carla following. Erza had begun to follow them before turning to see Natsu still staring at the ice. It seemed like he was watching a reflection, before suddenly his face twisted. "Natsu! we need to hurry!" she called him. jumping at her voice, Natsu shook his head and turned to run after her out of the building.

back in the church, Touka glanced to her right. "Laxus," she motioned for the Lightning mage.

he nodded, and stepped forward, before destroying the ice with one single punch, exploding the ice to tiny shards.

Gajeel stepped forward "let's follow them!" the guild behind him agreeing, thirsty for blood.

Touka shook her head "no. it doesn't matter. they'll come back on their own." she turned to her objective behind her. "this on the other hand, requires our full attention…"

* * *

_ central park, at the same time…_

they sat at around a stone roundtable. no one uttered a word. all deep into shock after what they saw.

Lucy was sniffed quietly. Natsu rubbed her back lightly absentmindedly to comfort her. none of them could understand how someone like Laxus or Gajeel could be so easily brainwashed. all their friends were out to kill them, and they couldn't retaliate back without hurting them.

Erza couldn't erase the memory of Jellal's stare. it was hollow and full of hate. not how they usually looked, with warm yet a bit sorrowful eyes. it scared her honestly. it reminded her of when they were in the Tower of Heaven, and that was a memory she definitely did not want to visit.

Wendy was quiet. her earlier adventure outside of the city seemed not as important as what happened to her beloved guildmates.

Happy and Carla didn't know what to do. they lost Lily to the white spell. and they didn't know how to get him back.

and Gray? Gray was worried. he hadn't seen Juvia there. after his talk with Juvina from Fairy Nail about being able to protect Juvia from anything, not knowing if she was even alive at this point was driving him insane. he kept tapping his hand against the marble the table was made of. the marble was a bit cold to the touch, not that he noticed, as his thoughts were occupied by other stuff. but the knock was getting on Natsu's nerves, so he not-so-kindly told Gray to knock it off before he knocks him out, to which Gray was about to retaliate, before a soft hand was laid on top of his and a soft voice spoke from behind him, making him freeze.

"now, Gray my Darling, is it really the time to start arguing?" Juvia asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Juvia!" Lucy and Wendy called, surprised. "you're okay!"

Gray kept staring at her.

"it's good to see you well, Juvia. we've been worried." Erza greeted her.

Gray kept his staring.

Natsu grinned "so not everyone is brainwashed? awesome!"

Gray was still staring.

at this point Juvia realized that her hand was still on top on Gray's so she blushed whilst removing her hand quickly. she did however, sat next to him.

Gray jolted out of his trance by her sudden movement. he cleared his throat. "why are you here? or more importantly, how are you here?" he questioned her.

"Juvia's radar for her beloved is incredible!" she answered without hesitation, which honestly both made Gray relieved that she's normal and also sweat drop at the way she so casually said something embarrassing.

"Juvia," Lucy began "what happened to the people in the guild? and how are you not affected?" she asked the water mage.

"something… in the guild?" Juvia mumbled, as she suddenly moved and clutched her head. "Juvia- Juvia can't recall… why can't Juvia remember?" she started to shake.

"Juvia? what's wrong? talk to me!" Gray grabbed her shoulders and made her look into his eyes "what do you know?" he asked her again.

Juvia was sweating and shaking as moved to hug herself. "somebody new… joined the guild. Juvia thinks… that person is suspicious." she suddenly moved and grabbed Gray's shoulders, startling them all "be careful with the white mage!" she told him, before fainting into his chest.

"Juvia? Juvia wake up!" he shook her shoulders. "get it together, Juvia!"

"she mentioned the white mage. isn't the white mage the same person who took over the guild?" Lucy remembered.

Wendy's eyes widened "Caramille mentioned it! she said she asked the white mage to limit the powers of Mercphobia!" she exclaimed in realization.

"then if that woman has the power of a Dragon God... we're in trouble." Erza thought out loud.

Juvia made a small noise and stirred. slowly, her eyes opened and she sat up from her place in Gray's arms.

"how are you feeling?" Wendy asked her.

"Juvia is fine." Juvia assured her. "however, our guild is not. they are being controlled by the white mage herself." she told them.

"how do you know?" Erza asked her.

"Juvia is able to tell you all of this because of Touka, the other person inside of the white mage." she explained. "for some reason, everybody is allowed to live for now, but that could change in any moment according to how she feels. we need to save them quickly." she looked at the with determination.

"their magic has been removed." she continued. "it might not have happened if we didn't underestimate her." she looked a bit ashamed.

"for one girl to have so much power, it's unimaginable." Erza said, thinking about all the magic in the white mage's hands as of now.

"the white mage has two personalities." Juvia moved her hands to her lap, examining them as a way to avoid the others' eyes. "the white mage herself, who wants to turn everything to white and the magic power of all wizards in the world. and then there's Touka, who has a genuine and pure heart, and hold affection towards Natsu." she glanced in the direction of the fire wizard, to see his total confused face.

"huh." was all he said. Lucy sent him a glance as well while raising an eyebrow. "affection for Natsu you say…" she looked at the pink haired man.

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know her." he told her.

"anyway," Gray intervened before they started arguing "how are you not brainwashed like the others?" he asked Juvia.

"Juvia was controlled at some point as well, but Touka managed to free her without the white mage knowing." Juvia explained. "once Juvia regained consciousness, she used her Gray radar to find you and tell you everything." that sentence managed to put a small smile at her face.

"anything else?" Erza asked her.

Juvia nodded "the white mage's plan is to 'white out' the five Dragon Gods." she told them.

"white out?" Happy asked.

Juvia nodded. "on a white out condition, all of their magic power is controlled by the white mage. controlling them with her will, she can make their magic go from nothing to max power on a whim. she could even control their own self." she told them with a grim look on her face.

"she planned to begin with Mercphobia, but since he was defeated, her plans were changed." Natsu made a surprised noise at that, his eyes widening.

"she planned to use the power of the Water God to white out the remaining dragons, but since he has lost his powers, she decided to use Fairy Tail's power instead." she sighed. "Juvia doesn't know if it was good or bad luck…" she lifted her head to see the others are confused by her words. "originally, she had planned to kill everyone in the guild after she had whited us out." she explained. "the lives of the guild were spared thanks to the defeat of the Water Dragon God. but still, their lives are still in her hands."

"isn't there anyway to defeat her?" Natsu asked.

"there might be a way…" Juvia said reluctantly.

"great!" Natsu grinned "so how do we do that?" he asked her.

"well-" Juvia was suddenly cut off by the ground shaking once again, like it had last night.

"i thought you said it was in specific times!?" Natsu questioned Lucy.

"this is the orb of the right hand" Juvia said, an uncharacteristic smirk on her face and her eyes not in the usual blue color. "left hand… right shoulder… left shoulder… if you destroy the remaining orbs Aldron will lose his power. my powers alone cannot destroy the orbs. but together we will. now go, Fairy Tail!" she moved her hand as if she was guiding someone into battle, before flinching. her eyes suddenly back to their deep blue color.

"are you alright Juvia?" Lucy asked the water mage, concerned.

"that, that was the words of the white mage!" Juvia jumped upwards. "Touka shared them with us using our link!"

"she's gonna try to break the towns orbs by using our friends?!" Erza called out in shock.

"I'm not going to let her do that!" Wendy stood up, looking determined.

"it means they are going to the other cities; we have to stop them!" Gray said.

"wait!" Lucy stopped them "this could be a good opportunity" she said, her hand going to her chin in thought.

"if we used Wendy's healing magic to save our friends, the white mage won't have any power and we could defeat her!" she said. but Wendy shook her head. "it will only work if they were unconscious." she told the blonde.

"unconscious? i can do that." Natsu smirked. "so, we need to fight our friends to save them?" he slammed his foot on the table "another Battle of Fairy Tail? I'm all fired up!" he shouted in excitement.

"defeating Laxus, Gajeel, Mira _and_ Jellal? this is going to be tough." Gray crossed his arms.

"at least Gildarts isn't here." Wendy tried to be optimistic.

"that doesn't matter." flames erupted from Natsu's fist. "i will defeat them all no matter what!"

* * *

**A/N: aaaaand that's a wrap!**

**phew! this chapter was a tough cookie. first, I'd like to apologize for the loooong hiatus. at first it was writer's block, then after that, I wanted to try and wait until a couple more chapters of the manga came out so I can finally write down some Aldron dialog, but noooooo! they just had to start a battle. welp, it wouldn't be an action series with it, I guess. you'll just have to wait a bit before you learn what Wendy and Aldron were talking about.**

**about his chapter though, it was kind of important. yes, I know right now everything is like super similar to the manga. I am aware. because it is done on purpose. but even though it's small, you can see the small changes I insert here and there (and the not so small 4k+ words about Wendy's little adventure that was honestly so much fun to write). I see this chapter the place where the story starts to slowly diverge from the manga. I still follow the manga for character accuracy and major plot devices, but after the whole Aldron parade the story will basically cut its cord from the manga and grow its own plot. though I will still use locations, characters and new powers from the canon, you know, to keep it authentic. **

**this chapter is a little longer from the others as an apology for being gone for so long. I plan on trying a more permanent schedule of updates, but we will see where the roads take us.**

**Next time!: the Battle of Fairy Tail v2 begins! who will fight against who? what new powers are going to appear? can fish be used as a weapon? who dragged Wendy all over town, and what are her intentions with the Dragon Gods? also, who did Natsu see in the reflection of the ice that made his gut twist? find out more on Fairy Tail: Family is More Than Blood chapter 4!**

**don't forget to like, review and follow the story! it gives me the drive to write!**

**see ya next time**

**-Snowwaffles **


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